CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Fire Leaves Thousands Stranded at Sea for Days

CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Fire Leaves Thousands Stranded at Sea for Days

This video is Carnival Cruise Lines President and CEO Gerry Cahill speaking at a news conference on February 12. It was the first time that a company representative spoke publicly since a fire had erupted in the engine room of the CARNIVAL TRIUMPH while the cruise ship was about 150 milkes off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Roughly 4,200 people were stranded onboard the vessel without air conditioning or widespread working toilets as two tugboats pulled the TRIUMPH to Mobile, Alabama. Lindsey Peterson, whose parents were passengers on the cruise ship, told NBC News that she was getting conflicting reports about the conditions onboard.

“Carnival is telling me that all the passengers are safe, the boat has 40 percent power, they have one dining room working with hot food and hot coffee, that the sleeping conditions are fine,” Peterson said. “Everything that Carnival has told me thus far has not matched up with what my mom has said.”

Passenger Debra Rightmire told ABC News that conditions were getting worse by the hour and cabin carpets were wet with urine and water. “Elderly and handicap are struggling, the smell is gross,” passenger Ann Barlow said in a text message. “Our room is leaking sewage.”

The Daily Mail noted that the same evening Cahill held the press conference and thousands of people were struggling through the conditions on the TRIUMPH, Carnival Corporation Chairman and CEO Micky Arison was in attendance at the American Airlines Arena in Miami to watch the basketball team he owns, the Heat. The US Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the fire and the response from the ship and its crew.

As former Carnival Cruise Lines senior officer Jay Herring told The Associated Press, one of the biggest concerns crew members had until the ship docked was the potential for disease outbreak—particularly norovirus. This fire is far from being an isolated incident, as fires break out on several cruise ships every year. Latti & Anderson LLP represents clients for all types of cruise ship injuries, including food poisoning, assaults and other hazards. Your ticket governs when and where you will be able to file a claim, and our solid understanding of national and international laws can help you maximize damages when filing your claim.

You can learn more about how we help injured passengers by visiting our website, and you could be entitled to compensation if you or a loved one sustained injuries on a cruise ship. Contact our firm at (800) 392-6072 to schedule a free consultation or fill out the form located on this page to have our Boston maritime trial lawyers review your case.